Wrench.



W. J. HANNA.

WRENCH. APPLICATION- FILED MARI 31.1916.

1,204,433. Patented Nov.- 14, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET I W. J. HANNA.

WRENCH.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3!, 1916.

1,204,433. Patented Nom 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Ra a

l a N llmwemms WILLIAM J'. HANNA, OF GENESEO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OFONE-HALF TO MILLARD F.

' BOAS, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 14, 1916.

Application filed March 31, 1916. Serial No. 87,965.

To all whom 2'27 may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. HANNA, acitizen of the United'States, and resident of Geneseo, in the county ofLivingston and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Wrenches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to wrenches.

One of its objects is to provide a wrench that is self-adjusting whenapplied to nuts or bolt-heads of varying sizes.

Another object is to make it possible to reset the parts to normalposition by a simple operation.

A third object is to construct the wrench so that it may be readilyassembled and cheaply manufactured.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a top-plan view of a wrench embodying thisinvention, partly broken away to show its interior construction; Fig. 2is a similar view, but with some of the parts represented in differentpositions; Fig. 3 is a central vertical section, with the parts in thepositions in which they are represented in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is aperspective view of a detail; and Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are correspondingviews of a modification.

The body 1 of the wrench may be formed as desired with a suitable lengthand cross section, and this body is expanded, at one end, into afiathead 2, provided with a notch 3 that constitutes the nut-engaging jaw.Within the head 2, and preferably extending toward the body or handle 1,is a recess or groove 4 adapted to receive a member 5 in the form of asliding bolt or bar. This bar may have one of its ends enlarged, asindicated at 6, for a purpose which will presently be described. Lyingwithin the enlarged portion 7 of the groove 4 is a series of flat,comparatively thin bars or plates 8, each adapted for independentmovement within said slot. The total thickness of all the bars 8 issubstantially equal to the width of the portion 6 on the bolt 5.

Above the bolt 5 and the plates 8 is a cover or retaining-plate 9, whichmay be suitably fastened upon the head 2 as by screws 10. This plate orcover has a recess 11 in its inner face, and in this recess is fixed aspring-plate 12, the free end of which is split into separate fingers 13equal in numher to the plates 8, the width of each finger being suchthat it may bear upon one of the plates 8 without bearing upon any ofthe others. The cover 9 is also provided with a slot 14 through whichprojects a stop-pin 15' pushed toward the latter in the direction of itsown length, so that part of the. nut will necessarily displace some ofthe plates 8 in order to be engaged by the wrench, see Fig. 2. Of coursethe wrench is held so that one side of the nut may bear against the sideof the notch 3 that is integral with the head 2, and then only so manyof the bars 8 will be pushed backward as are required to make up thedifference between the normal notch 3 and the width of the nut. In Fig.2 the nut 16 is shown as having such dimensions that three of the plates8 are displaced.

the position of the shoulder 17 are such that when the end of the bolt 5meets said shoulder the outer end of those plates 8 which have moved thebolt 5 will then lie flush with the inner side of the jaw-opening 3.Thus, in the position of the parts shown in Fig. 2, one side of thejaw-opening consists of a portion of a solid head 2, while the op positeside of the jaw-opening is formed by the plates 8 which were notdisplaced by the nut 16. These remaining plates are prevented frommoving backward into the recess 7 by the fingers 18, which exertcontinuous pressure upon them, this pressure being sufiicient merely toprevent any of the plates from accidental displacement. When it isdesired to reset the plates 8 to the position shown in Fig. 1, it isaccomplished by merely moving the stop-pin 15 the full length of theslot 14, inasmuch as the stop-pin is fixed in the bolt 5, so that thelatter is thus caused to travel outwardly in the recess 4, and therebynecessarily push before it any of the plates 8 which are not in thenormal or outermost position. The length of the slot 14 is such thatwhen the pin15 has reached its outer end, the plates 8 will be perfectlyalined with one another, as in Fig. 1. The drag exerted by thespring-fingers 13 on the plates 8 hold the latter immovable except whenmoved either by means of the bolt 5 or. by pressing the plates againstthe nut.

In Figs. 5, 6 and 7 is shown a modification in which the plates 8 arenormally held yieldingly in outward position by a spring 18' that lieswithin the recess abutting at one end against the shoulder 17 at the endof said recess and at the other end against the bar 19, the latter beingequal in width to the total thickness of all of said plates 8.

In the operation of the device shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, the nutdisplaces some of the plates as before, and when withdrawn the displacedplates are returned to their outer position by the spring 18, the otherplates beingprevented from moving backward into the recess 7' by thefingers 13 as in the other from of construction.

What I claim is V l. A wrench comprising a handle and body portion, thelatter having a recess, a series of plates within said recess,separately movable in one and the same direction, and an actuatingmember within said recess, adapted to reset all. or" said plates at once,to'their outer nost positions.

A wrench comprising a handle and body portion, the latter having arecess, a series of plates within said recess, separately movablein oneand the same direction, and

a resetting bar also within said recess and behind said plates and alsomovable 1n the direction of movement of said plates for resetting saidplates.

3.7 A wrench comprising a handle and body portion, the latter having twojaws anda's'eries of plates between said aws that are separately movableaway from said jaws,

and a member adapted to move all of said plates simultaneously intoposition between said jaws and to bemoved into its retracted position byany of said plates.

at, A wrench comprising a handle and body portion, the latter having twojaws and a series of plates between said that are separately movableaway from said aws, and a sliding actuating part adapted to e11- gageall of said plates to move them simultaneously into position betweensaid jaws and to permit said plates to be moved separately away fromsaid aws.

A wrench comprising a handle and body portion, the latter having twojaws and a series of plates between'said jaws that are separatelymovable away from said jaws, a member adapted to move all'of said platessimultaneously into position between said jaws and to be moved into itsretracted position by any of said plates, and means for exerting a dragon said plates severally.

6. A wrench comprising a handle and body portion, the latter having arecess, a series 01" plates within said recess, separately movable inone and the same direction, and a spring-actuated member within saidrecess, adapted to resetall ofsaid plates at once to their outermostpositions.

7. A .wrench :comprising a handle and body portion, the latter having arecess, a series of plates within said recess, separately movable in oneand the same direction, a resetting bar also within said recess andbehind said plates and also movable in the di-' rection of movement ofsaid plates for resetting said plates, and a spring also within saidrecess behind said resettmg bar adapted to hold said' barfyeildingly initsoutermost position. 7

WILLIAM J; HANNA.

Copies of this pat ent may be obtained forfivecents each, byaddressingthe comniissioner of Patents,

- r 7 Washington, I). O. 1

